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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is interviewed by FOX and Friends at the U.S.
Capitol on Jan. 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent subpoenas to eight technology companies asking for more information about their communications with foreign governments over concerns that they seek to "censor speech" in the U.
S. The subpoenas were sent Wednesday to the CEOs of Google parent Alphabet , Meta , Amazon , Apple , Microsoft and TikTok, as well as X and video platform Rumble. "The Committee must understand how and to what extent foreign governments have limited Americans' access to lawful speech in the United States, as well as the extent to which the Biden-Harris Administration aided or abetted these efforts," Jordan said in a statement.
CNBC reached out to each of the subpoenaed companies for comment. The only response came from Rumble, which said it "has received the subpoena and we look forward to sharing information related to the ongoing efforts of numerous governments around the globe who seek to suppress the innate human right to self expression." Jordan pointed to the European Union's Digital Services Act , a similar set of laws in the U.
K., called the Online Services Act, and regulations around illegal content and hate speech in Brazil and Australia. The committee is seeking communications around the companies' compliance with "foreign censorship laws, regulations, judicial orders or other government-initiated efforts" and any internal correspondence discussing those matters.
The Republican-led committee has previously accused major tech companies of censorship. The panel subpoenaed Alphabet, Meta and other firms in 2023 , demanding they turn over communications between the companies and the U.S.
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